‘Clean’ audit for RMU presented at meeting

The staff at Rolla Municipal Utilities does a great job of accurate accounting, an auditor told the Rolla Board of Public Works Thursday afternoon.

R.D. Hohenfeldt | Staff Writer

The staff at Rolla Municipal Utilities does a great job of accurate accounting, an auditor told the Rolla Board of Public Works Thursday afternoon.

Andy Marmouget, of the Davis, Lynn & Moots auditing firm, told the board he does 150 municipal audits a year and "I can count on one hand the ones that we don't have to adjust the books." Rolla Municipal Utilities is one of those, he said.

Thanking the staff and management for their work and cooperation, Marmouget said RMU earned "an unqualified, or clean, audit," which he described as the highest opinion an auditor can offer.

Going over the highlights of the audit, Marmouget noted RMU's total net assets grew from $44,923,528 in fiscal year 2011 to $47,606,355 in fiscal year 2012.

Of the $24,779,430 in current assets ($24,117,102 last year), $21,649,216 is in cash ($24,117,102 last year).

Net worth of the utility plant (property, plant, equipment and construction in progress) is $41,872,587 ($39,110,864 last year).

Current liabilities add up to $4,576,935 ($4,834,752 last year). Total noncurrent liabilities, including leases and vacations payable, amount to $14,468,627 ($15,205,679 last year).

Looking at revenues and expenses, Marmouget told the board the total operating revenues for fiscal year 2012 were $29,255,347 ($30,112,519 in 2011).

Operating expenses totaled $26,539,054 in 2012 ($26,250,058 in 2011), so operating income in 2012 was $2,716,293 ($3,862,461 in 2011).

Figuring in all the nonoperating revenues and expenses, there was an additional loss of $33,466 in 2012 (a gain of $178,336 in 2011).

That gave a $2,682,827 increase in net assets in 2012 ($4,040,797 in 2011).

Marmouget turned his attention to the financial position of the pension plan, noting the actuarial value of assets in the plan amount to $5,472,110 while the actuarial accrued liability is $7,773,580. That's an unfunded accrued liability of $2,301,470, a 70 percent funded ratio.

Marmouget said that is on the low side of what municipal organizations carry (70 percent to 90 percent), but he noted it is much higher than it was in 2010 when the plan was 53 percent funded.

Concerning leases payable, Marmouget noted RMU has a principal balance of $1,630,000 for water towers and $13,438,000 for electric substations.